Latch.



No. 876,581. PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908,

' M. J. OSTUL.

LATCH.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1907. v

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

I PATENTED JAN. 14, 1908. M. J. OSTUL.

LATCH 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1907.

' vwenl oz attozmip MARTIN J. OSTUL, OF MINNEOTA, MINNESOTA.

LATCH.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1908.

Application filed April 18. 1907. Serial No. 368019.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MARTIN J. OsTUL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Minneota, in the county of Lyon, State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same. i

This invention has reference to improvements in latches, and it aims. to provide an exceedingly simple, as well as durable de vice of thatclass adapted especially for use in connection with the doors of barns and similar structures, the drop bolt of the latch including a portion extending through an opening formed in the door, wherebv it may be operated and the door unlatched from either side.

With the above and other ends in view, the invention consists in the construction, combination, and arrangement of parts, all as hereinafter more fully described, specifically claimed, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which like parts are designated by corresponding reference numerals in the several views.

Of the said drawings Figure 1 is a front elevation of a latch constructed in accordance with the present invention and applied to a door, the latter being in closed position. Fig. 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the door in its open position. Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 33 of Fig. 1. Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, are detail views, respectively, of the catch, bolt, keeper, and the two fastening plates for the bolt.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 10 designates the door which is connected to its casing 11 by a hinge 14. The door is further provided with a pair of metal fastening plates 12 and 13 bolted thereto, in which is pivotally mounted the Ushaped drop-bolt 15, whose bent inner end 16 fits in an internal channel 17 formed in the plate 13 and extends through an opening 18 in the door registering with said channel, such bent end forming a handle portion. The opposite end of the drop-bolt is provided with a transversely-enlarged head 19, adapted to be removably engaged when the door is closed with a keeper 20 secured to the door casing.

The keeper, above referred to, consists of a metal plate, whose inner end is arched, to

provide a vertically-extending seat 2], disposed in alinement with the bolt-head 19, and in such proximity thereto that the latter extends partially thereinto when the door is closed, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The pivotal or swinging movement of the bolt is, however, limited by the formation upon the plate 12 of a pair of ears 22, which project laterally from said plate upon opposite sides of the arm of said bolt adjacent the bent end upon which the head 19 is formed; the provision of a tooth 23 formed upon the keeper 20 adjacent the arched seat 21 and extending towards the bolt serving as a further check upon such movement.

Owing to the extension of the bolt end 16 through the opening 18 formed in the door, the bolt may be operated and its head 19 disengaged from the keeper seat 21 from either the interior or the exterior of the barn or other structure, the provision of the ears 22 and tooth 23 causing the bight portion of the bolt and its handle end 16 to project laterally from opposite sides of the door at all times, whether the door is in open or closed position.

To retain the door in closed position a catch 28 is secured to the outer wall of the barn or other structure, and so positioned thereon as to engage the central. portion of the drop bolt 15. This catch, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, comprises a plate having a laterally-projecting lower hook member 30, and an upper inclined shoulder 29, extending directly above said hook member. When the door is moved into its open position, it will be obvious that the central portion of the drop bolt will ride along the upwardly inclined face 31 of the member 30, and will be engaged in the seat 32, the shoulder 29 preventing accidental displacement of the bolt from such position.

The parts being assembled and in place, as in Fig. 1., a partial downward rotation of the drop bolt will disengage its enlarged end from the seat 21 formed on the keeperplate, when the door may be opened in the usual manner. The door may, in like manner, be unlatched from the interior by a downward movement of its handle portion 16. lVhen the door is closed the enlarged end portion, which is engaged in the keeperplate seat, will prevent the door from being accidentally opened.

The internal channel formed in the fastening plate 13 serves as a seat for one end of the drop bolt, permitting the latter to swing freely therein, and, at the same time, covers the opening 18 in the door, preventing the entry of snow or rain therethrough.

What is claimed, is

1. In combination with a door and its casing, a latch including a pair of fastening plates secured to the door, and a bolt mounted therein for limited rotation; and a keeper for said bolt secured to the casing and adapted to detachably engage one end of said bolt, one of said fastening plates having an internal channel and the door having an opening registering with said channel and through which the opposite end of said bolt extends, whereby said bolt may be operated and the door unlatched from either side.

2. In combination with a door and its casing, a latch including a pair of fastening plates secured to the door, and a bolt mounted at opposite ends therein for limited rotation; a keeper secured to the casing'and provided with a seat into which the adjacent end. of the bolt is movable into and out of engagement; and means formed upon one of said plates for retaining said bolt in operative position at all times.

3. In combination with a door and its casing, a latch including a pair of fastening plates secured to the door, and an U-shaped bolt mounted at opposite ends therein for limited rotation; a keeper secured to the casing and provided with a seat into which the adjacent end of the bolt is movable into and out of engagement; and means formed upon one of said plates and disposed upon opposite sides of the adjacent bolt end for limiting the rotary movement of said bolt, to maintain the bight portion of the latter out of contact with the door at all times.

4. In combination With a door and its casing, a latch including a pair of fastening plates secured to the door, and an U-shaped bolt mounted at opposite ends therein for limited rotation; a keeper secured to the casing and provided with a seat into which the adjacent end of the bolt is movable into and out of engagement and a pair of ears projecting laterally from the plate adjacent said keeper and disposed upon opposite sides of the corresponding bolt end, for limiting the rotary movement of said bolt, to maintain the bight portion of the latter out of contact with the door at all times.

5. In combination with a door and it casing, a latch including a pair of fastening plates secured to the door, and an U-shaped bolt mounted at opposite ends therein for limited rotation; a keeper secured to the casing and provided with a seat into which the adjacent end of the bolt is movable into and out of engagement; and a pair of ears projecting laterally from the plate adjacent said keeper and disposed upon opposite sides of the corresponding bolt end, for limiting the rotary movement of said bolt, to maintain the bight portion of the latter out of I contact with the door at all times, the other plate having an internal channel and the door having an opening registering with said channel and through which the oppo-.

site end of said bolt extends, whereby said bolt may be operated and the door un-' latched from either side.

In testimony whereof, I afiix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

MARTIN J. OSTUL. Witnesses:

H. J. FILLEMANS, S. B. ERIGKSON. 

